Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-12-15

the waves rose so heavily that made but
slow progress. Louder came second
peal Of thunder, accompanied by a still
more vivid flash. and in less time than it
takes me to tell it, found myself and
my frail skiff struggling in the grasp OF
the storm king. The unequal com
bat did not last long Quickly
but surely l found myself being
driven against the rocks when
swish. A wave more powerful than
its fellows had struck my boat, engulfed
it, and i was battling for life in grim
earnest. l was good swimmer, but my
efforts now hardly kept me aioat. The
tall grim cliffs frowned darkly before
me. and around me was the rpging sea.
Suddenly breaker overwhelmed me. i
fought for breath for a moment, then a
blank followed until conclusion that |
felt certain had dis,oeated my every limb
brought me painfully to the conscious
ness, that l had been washed upon rock
that was projecting from its parent preci-
pice. / hastily dragged myself out OF
the sweep of the receding wave, and tried
to realize my position. There Just above
me rose a mass Of smooth cliff to the
height of hundred and fifty feet, and
on my left hand some eighty yards away
was yawning cavern. Its interior, re-
vealed to me by the lightning's glare,
seemed familiar Yes, glanced ur, and
there with its empty portals furtively il
Eliminated by the electric flash rose the
haunted tower. Again my eyes rested on
thf mouth of the cavern. Was that a
light inside, or was it the re-
Election from the lightningl
Yes. it unquestionably was a light.
Its steady blaze left no doubt upon my
mind. Ths waves were beating every
moment with greater fury upon the rock
on which / lay, and l easily perceived
that if / remained longer would be
washed away. "a drowning man will
catch at straw. Better to chance COM
ing across a ghost than to be sure of be-
| ing drowned" thought, as l clam
bered over the intervening rocks with
some difficulty, and arrived at the mouth
of the cave Yes, there at the end of the
cavern was q fire sure enough, and q
dropping figure beside it. The entrance
to the cave was comparatively easy to
one who like myself had continuous
practice ut cliff climbing for some weeks,
and once inside progress was easy, as the
floor though rough, was wide, and free
from assures, and the distant fire gave u
faint but sufficient light to enable me to
make my way. As I came nearer |
! perceived that the fire was a large
one composed of huge logs of timber,
which, no doubt, had been driven in
by the sea, and hill of turf and fire.
brands. The dropping figure was that
of woman bent with age, who from
time to time uttered plaintive ex-
clamations, but what she was saying l
could not ascertain at the distance at
which / stood. Nearer | crept, still
keeping in the shadow of the caves walls,
until got behind boulder a few feet
from the fire. Then saw the outlines
of large still just behind it, by which
that illicit cordial, known to every tour
ist in Ireland by the name of "Potteen"
is distilled. Again my attention was
directed to the old Groom, who turning
round revealed to me face beside which
that of any of Macbeth's witches would
be lovely and pleasant to behold. Hold
ing up her shriveled arms, she cried in
a shrill voice strung to the pitch of
agony:
"Pat Morty! won't We come home2 Oh,
won't We Gomez Will nivir say ye
agin? Och, but the crule wathers have
swallied yc, and yell niyir come back to
yer moderr
She ceased for moment with long
drawn moan, then again rose her cry
"Och Pat! Pat Cuddihy Morty me
darlin byes. Shure yer losth, yer losth
to mew
Pat Cuddihy! Morty Cuddihyl
knew them we'll. They had always pro-
fessed to be the firmest believers in this
spot being haunted, and had frequently
and solemnly asserted that not only they,
but their father before them had seen the
blue lights, and heard the shrieks when
going out of q night with their nets, OF
making their way home to their house,
which was situated not far from the
castle. / saw it allnow. They had been
turning the superstition of the innocent
villagers to account in order to kecr
them from the knowledge of what kind
of spirits the cavern really contained.
i hesitated no longer. Stepping from
behind the boulder, I revealed myself to
the old woman. She uttered cry OF
terror, and yelling "a spurit, spuritl' r
rushed off into the innermost recesses oi
the cave.
Suspecting that there must be some
mode of exit beside that by which
came. | seized fire brand from the fire,
and searched round. Yes, there was 9
rough ladder resting against the wall,
and, climbing up it, found myself in q
miniature cave, where were strewn some
barrels, jars and empty bottles. Survey
ing this place more closely my eye light
ed on lantern with rush light inside
Igniting it by means of my fire brand,
which by this time had been almost con
sumed, saw a steep and long passage
stretching in front of me. This pro
ceeded to climb, and at length found
myself in the open air and in the cente
4 of the haunted tower. The storm haG
somewhat subsidized in its fury, and shiv
ering and weary set out for Dunlecky
whose distant lights could see twink
ling through the night. l was received
with the greatest rejoicing Some fish
ermen had seen me departing, and o1 m,
non-return, / was given up for lost. Bu
when told them / had been in th,
haunted cavern, they all said the pui
bye's head is daisy from the wather." :"
However, got the Coast Guard off
GERS who lived some four miles away t,